Bidding Farewell
by nacrolyte
Summary: My 1st Naruto fic. Please Do Read! A tournament is commissioned for the hand of Hinata-hime and the elite of the ninja world compete alongside Neji, but he competes for reasons others do not. What happens when lines are dangerously blurred? Can he win his freedom in exchange for his victory? How could he possibly love her after all & how could she possibly love him still? NejixHina


**A/N: Hey there fellas. So, there's a few thing I'd better address now.**

**A. I do not own Naruto, if I did, it would be called Uchicha Itachi. This is a Neji/Hina story, some might call it incest but that's their opinion. If you find this pairing offensive, run. Personally –and in most of the world- cousinxcousin is not considered incest.**

_This one's for you Scribbler, if you ever see this and for you fammy. I love you._

**Title: Bidding Farewell**

**Chapter 1: The Prodigal Returns Home Part I**

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**Flash Forward:**

The day awakened outside and the sun let escape a few slender rays to dance up across the now pink, cloudy sky. It would be morning soon, he thought to himself, sucking air into his lungs with evident effort. He had no way of knowing how long he'd been standing there.

She'd be here any minute now; he steadied himself with the thought. He would finally say to her the words that would bring everything out into the open, those words that had kept him from sleep, food –_comfort-_ for only God knew how long. He was in the process of recounting the previous day's events when the sound of soft footsteps in the distance interrupted his thoughts and caused him to stand up from his sitting position. He was now facing the door from where she would enter; his back was to the large window displaying the sky's slow transition to day. 'Hinata-sama'he let out loud in a whisper, like a prayer on a monk's tongue. His senses heightened, as the sound of the soft footsteps grew louder, his heartbeat quickened, painfully, in anticipation.

It was but a moment more before she entered the door and that he looked up at her with his breath caught in his throat and all coherent thought suspended from his mind. He knew every curve of her frame, every little habit, every gesture that made what was collectively addressed by others as Hinata-sama, yet if he were to be asked to describe what he saw when he looked at her, he would not be able to do so. Feelings, gestures, words, seemed lacking; simply put, he was a moth and she was the purest of lights.

The woman, elegant in her beauty, held her head high and her back straight as she entered the room. She evidently had _it_, whatever her father had insisted that she had lacked all these years. She had the air of a queen, and a queen she was; in retrospect, perhaps, it was not so hard to conclude that she had always had this dignity, this _class_, in her. Her hair, which was tied up high behind her head seemed almost a midnight blue in the dim light, striking a sharp contrast against her smooth porcelain skin. She was wearing a kimono, with her hands at her sides and with her jaw set.

He bent down to greet the heiress, his movement almost instinctive in front of this magnificent creature. No longer was this the shy stuttering Hinata he had once known, he reminded himself as she walked past him without a glance. He could only deduce that she was now looking out the window with the sun now raised from its slumber. A moment passed before he turned round to face her, finding her back positioned in front of him and with his back now to the door. She looked out the window for a moment before partially looking over her shoulder towards him. He took the initiative and breathed, 'Hinata-sama'. It was difficult to articulate what he felt, he found, swallowing the dry lump in his throat. He licked his lips to begin anew, 'Hinata-sama. In accordance with the previous days events and the result, I would like to ask for your hand in marriage', silence followed. She did not seem stirred by his proposal, but rather lost in some thought.

He took a step forward in his helplessness, to continue on, 'I love you Hinata-sama, truly, with every fiber of my being and in every vein in my body. There's never been anyone else but you. I would do anything for you…I would kill, I lay my life at your feet. I am at your mercy, hime' he said finally, with overflowing conviction, his palms turned up in front of him in frustration.

'Is there anything else?' she finally asked after a long silence in the same calm tone, not un-kindly.

He took a breath in frustration. He didn't know what else to do, the hero of the Leaf Village, one of the most –if not the most- talented shinobi in three lands stood there, more helpless than he had ever felt in his life. He was helpless to win the love and affections of this unattainable creature, and without her nothing else mattered. What more could he do? He asked himself, how could anyone ever love, revere, desire, another more than he did her?

'I would make you happy, highness. I would make for you a heaven on earth. All my lands, my riches, my name, it is all yours to take. I promise you that you would have everything your heart has ever wanted.'

'I only want to be free' she whispered through her teeth and with a heavy brow and in a moment, her eyes were on his. Her right hand was curled into a small, tight ball by her side as she spoke slowly, 'I will not be confined…even by you. A cage is still a cage, even if it is a gilded one…I can not accept you offer.'

Her eyes stayed on him as he comprehended her reply and his sorrow became evident on his handsome face and a tear ran down her own cheek. An indefinite time passed between them, and they looked on into each other's eyes with broken hearts. Angry clouds roared in the background, it had started raining heavily outside he realized as she turned to the window again. Perhaps the skies and the heavens alike were crying with them.

**End of Flash Forward**

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**Present Day:**

The sun beat down on the dojo angry and gleaming, as Hinata tried desperately to regain her breath. She was lying on her stomach in an excruciating position, with Neji positioned onto her back in a manner that caused her body to be trapped between the hard wood floor underneath an his hard, toned form from above. He hadn't even broken a sweat. Her cheek was pressed against the wood and she could see his hair in front of her face, coming down over his shoulder. One of his arms was behind her back with her arm twisted in his grip, the other pushed against the ground on the other side of her head against the ground for balance. He was twisting her arm further, with his fingertips pressing almost gently into her skin, sending another wave of pain throughout her already-exhausted body and she had to bite down on her lip to keep from crying out. She wouldn't let him have that satisfaction. His byakugan-activated eyes narrowed, as if reading her mind, and he positioned two of his fingers toward the nape of her neck, she would know her place he thought venomously, only to be interrupted in the process by Hiachi. 'That will do, you have displayed your competence to the elders. For now, you may go rest. We will talk to you after dinner tonight about the contest' he said to him with a nod and his face expressionless, leaving the grounds without so much as a look at his own child.

Neji then let go of the frail creature beneath him and standing up, proceeded to straighten out his clothes with his hands, as if dusting off the insignificant act he had just given attendance to. It had been five long years since the chunin exams, five years since the last time he had been here. He did not doubt that the meeting that night would entail what he already had some idea of. A contest to win the hand of the high and mighty Hinata-sama, how he could laugh at the idea he thought to himself bitterly.

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**So you've reached the end of this awesome fic and can't wait for more? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW.**

**Just thought I'd put it out there. The more you do, the more I get happy, the more I make you happy.**

**A/N: **

**C. This is just a preview from roughly the middle of the story, the basic angle I want to play in the story is that of Hinata coming-of-age and of Neji being brought to his knees (emotionally) by someone much inferior to him in most other things. Although, I should mention, they won't be OC and I will try to keep them as similar to canon as possible. Also, I only will continue if I get adequate feedback –I'm not sure if it's even worth continiuing- and as I am also trying to iron out my writing skills, any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks.**

**D. For those receiving the author's notification because of my other story _A Crusade Against Time_, I am sorry to say that it will not be continued even though I had a very nice plot in mind for it, anyone interested in continuing it may PM me.**


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